Control Yuan members yesterday questioned Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) over the problem-ridden Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system’s Wenshan-Neihu Line, or Wen-Hu Line, saying that they did not rule out questioning President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
After the session, Hau said he told Control Yuan members that the city government did not put the line into operation ahead of schedule or shorten the line’s trial period.
He said the main reason why the Wen-Hu line experienced such frequent shutdowns was because of problems in the initial network design, without elaborating further.
Control Yuan members Ger Yeong-kuang (葛永光), Chen Yung-hsiang (陳永祥) and Chao Jung-yao (趙榮耀) have launched an investigation into the problems with the line since it opened in July.
The line connecting Muzha and Neihu has experienced several malfunctions and system breakdowns and the city government has been accused of rushing the trial period and opening the line before making sure the systems ran smoothly.
Hau dismissed the allegations yesterday, saying that he was told by the city government’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems on his first day in office in December 2006 that construction was scheduled to be completed this March and that the line would begin operating in June.
Asked whether Control Yuan members should also question Ma, Hau’s predecessor, on how his city government had arranged the integration of the Muzha line and newly built Neihu line systems, Hau said that he respected the Control Yuan’s decision.
Ger said: “The Presidential Office has said that Ma will cooperate with the [Control Yuan] probe and there is no constitutional problem involved.”
Having the president speak to the Control Yuan on the issue would establish a constitutional precedent, and the Control Yuan would consult anyone it deemed necessary, Ger said.
Hau’s administration was recently censured by the Control Yuan over the construction of the Maokong Gondola, which was suspended because of erosion under a pillar after a typhoon last year, as well as its refusal to pay health insurance premiums to the central government as they were at odds over how to calculate insurance contributions.
Ma was Taipei mayor when the Maokong Gondola was built and when the boycott of health premiums was launched.
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